Parent Joslynn Nicholson from Englewood joins hundreds of other Chicago Public Schools parents outside the Merchandise Mart today to protest the standoff between the CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union over a longer school day. Nicholson, who has two children in the system, wants the union to agree to a longer school day.
(Alex Garcia / Chicago Tribune / October 24, 2011)

The Chicago Public School's Board of Education will vote on a resolution Wednesday that would give charter schools grants of up to $75,000 and teachers stipends of $800 if they implement a longer school day in 2011-12.

The board will vote on whether to establish a grant fund for charter schools of $4.4 million. Charters would have to apply for the grants, explaining their proposed schedule revisions and how they'd use the money to further the district's longer school day initiative.

The proposal brings a new twist to the politically-charged debate over longer school days because charter school teachers are not typically union members. By bringing charter schools into the fold, CPS leaders could expand its longer school day plan to potentially dozens more schools without asking teachers to sign waivers to void their teachers contract.

The Chicago Teachers Union has fought CPS officials over the longer school day plan, saying district leaders have coerced and intimidated teachers into adopting the proposal in opposition to the union.

Thirteen CPS elementary schools have approved extending their school days by 90 minutes in an effort to give students more classroom time and improve student performance. CPS has offered schools up to $150,000 and teachers one-time pay bonuses of about $1,200 to sign one.

The union filed a complaint with the Illinois Educational Relations Board, which last week voted to seek court intervention to block more schools from adopting the longer day plan.

Andrew Broy, president of the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, said CPS includes 110 charter schools, and 85 of them have a longer day than the traditional CPS school, with the lion's share meeting or exceeding the 90 extra minutes proposed by CPS. About 40 charters don't have instruction time as long as the one proposed by CPS, though.

At the last Board of Education meeting, Broy had suggested to board members that all schools, including charters, should be offered financial incentives for having longer days.

"Any charter school meeting a longer school day should get the same benefit as other public schools," Broy said. "We have always thought extending the offer to charter schools was the right thing to do."